Gingerbread Cookies

My mom likes to plan things and have events. No idea why; she just does. I'm not talking about family parties/get-togethers (those are a given). I'm talking about the tea party she had earlier this year. And the cookie exchange she decided to hold this month. While trying to figure out what recipe to make (lots of decisions involved, the first one being a choice between a recipe I would find online and a recipe I would find in the cookbooks/magazines on my bookshelf), I had a lightbulb moment: the snowflake cookie pan! A few years ago I received a Wilton cookie pan from Nonni for Christmas. It has 12 cavities for snowflake cookies of different designs. The "packaging" included a recipe for gingerbread cookies so I decided to make those.

Gingerbread Cookies (from cookie pan packaging)

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray pan with vegetable pan spray.
2. In large mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour and remaining ingredients at low speed of mixer until blended, scraping bowl often. Increase speed to medium and beat two minutes or until very smooth.
3. Reduce speed to low. Add remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough is very stiff. (If you are using a small mixer, the last flour may need to be stirred or kneaded in by hand.)
4. Press dough into pan cavities. (I'm not sure but MAYBE this recipe would still work if one were to roll the dough out and use a cookie cutter.) Bake 6-8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to cooling grid to cool. (I also decorated them with red and green sprinkles for the holiday season.)

Makes about 1 dozen cookies (I was able to get at least twice that)

Because of the cookie exchange, I had to make the recipe twice (by washing the bowl in between batches, I think I might have temporarily broken my garbage disposal since I didn't let the leftover dough sit long enough in the soapy water. Either that or the molasses might've done something). I overdid filling the cavities at first so the resulting cookies had a little excess around the edges. Still, they turned out delicious.

The cookies were a hit at the cookie exchange. My mom even said that a neighbor who couldn't make it (but who we decided to give her share of the cookies anyway) listed the gingerbread cookies as one of her favorites. I have a feeling I'll be making these again.